Development and Investigation of Minimum Power Non-contact Swirl Vane Gripper

Abstract

The Swirl vane gripper is a new non-contact gripper, which uses negative pressure created by the air swirling flow to create an upward lifting force. This upward force can be used to lift an object, which is placed underneath the gripper. In comparison with other non-contact grippers, this gripper is electrically actuated (rather than pneumatically) and hence require less power to generate same lifting force as produced by other grippers. In this work, we have selected three parameters: Suction Force, Stable levitation region, and clearance distance (distance between the work piece and the gripper) for evaluating the performance of the gripper. The variation of the suggested parameters with motor speeds ranging from 1000 rpm to 20000 rpm is studied. The F-h (i.e., suction force versus distance between work piece and the gripper) is plotted and from the F-h curve, stable levitation region of the gripper was obtained. Different clearance distances were set, and the gripper was actuated at these clearance distances and the effect of clearance distance on maximum suction force was studied. The variation of the suggested parameters with varying surface roughness of the work piece was experimentally obtained using sand papers of various grit sizes: Smooth, 150 grit and 60 grit. An S-h curve (i.e., Motor speed versus clearance distance) with the obtained results (of varying surface roughness) is plotted and the energy requirement of the gripper for handling work pieces of different surface roughness was evaluated. A curve of electrical energy consumption (in Watts) versus lifting force is also plotted. The experimental results are then compared with that of Bernoulli and Vortex gripper to estimate the performance of these three grippers at the same condition.

Keywords: Levitation, non-contact gripper, suction force, swirl vane gripper, motor speeds

Cite this Article

Aravind P.S., Rahul M. Development and Investigation of Minimum Power Non-contact Swirl Vane Gripper. Trends in Electrical Engineering. 2018; 8(3): 28–34p.